I always debate whether or not to post these little peeks into my daily life using Instagram photos, mainly because I start over-thinking. ("Do my readers really care about looking at these random photos from my everyday life? Is that lame for me to re-post images that are already on my Instagram when they can just go look at them that way?") Ultimately, the reality is that these days most of us do capture images of life with our phones, and whether we share them on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter or online albums or keep them to ourselves, it's an easy, convenient way to record memories and share stories. And as much as I love photography and adore my DSLR and Photoshop and all that, real life is just a little more stripped-down then polished, edited photos with perfect lighting.

Every once in a while, I'll go through old posts I've written. It's kind of fun to look back on the occasional personal posts with everyday photos taken from my phone's photo gallery or my Instagram. I'll suddenly remember an experience or simple moment I'd forgotten. Sometimes I'll realize how quickly life changes. Sometimes I'll feel inspired to revisit a favorite place, or call a friend with whom I haven't spoken in a while. And I like sharing pieces of my life with you guys from time to time - there is a real person behind this blog, and I want it to be more than just edited articles of things I like or outfits I wore. Piecing together different shots from my Instagram collection here on the blog is a means of telling a quick story and sharing what I've been up to. The term "lifestyle blog" can be pretty all-encompassing, but I really enjoy writing a mixture of content that includes more polished posts (DIYs, personal style) and journal type entries. Most of my favorite blogs contain a mixture of content (with a blend of well-edited and rawer photos) as well, and I appreciate getting to see quick glimpses into the lives of the people behind the blogs.

And that, my friends, is my deep thought for the day. What's your opinion on bloggers sharing their Instagram photos on their blogs? Is it something you enjoy or could you do without it?

If you're on Instagram, leave your user name in the comments so I can check out your photos! You can see more of mine here or under the user name bubbyandbean.

I have the same feelings when I share my Instagrams. All my IG followers ave already seen them...so why keep putting them out there? But, I often only have pictures from my phone, so it's a nice way to add photos to posts.

I don't have Instagram so I love seeing your pics from there, and youalways have witty captions haha. :-) I like seeing peeks into bloggers real lives and agree that most of us use our phones for picture taking these days. I hope you keep posting yours bc they're some of my favorite posts!!

I still don't have a smart phone, so I still don't have instagram. Truthfully, I love seeing other people's "mundane lives". It's really interesting (to me) to find little similarities between people you don't know and yourself. Like the fact that we both drink the same sleepytime tea :)

melissa, i like instagram on blogs because i don't have instagram. so i do get to see another point of view. that pessimist mug is the best. ;) maybe your sis could do a manicure DIY? the kid band is my heart.

Truth be told, I always felt the same way so I never posted my Instagrams to my blog and I also never really click on a post that is showing Instagrams, but something compelled me to look at this today and I have to say I truly enjoyed seeing them all over again. I follow you, you know that, and actually I appreciate these photos in this format more than on the feed. I'm really not sure what I'm getting at here, but I figured I'd let you know that I like it. I may even give it a whirl on my blog seeing as how so many people do appreciate it since they're not on Instagram. It's a good point. Have a good day!

your life via instagram posts are actually some of my very favorites! i don't have an instagram account but even if i did i really like seeing the peeks and you always write something good with it too. =) i enjoy when bloggers post instagram pics if they write along with them.

I am also one of the few that don't have Instagram, so I really enjoy it when people post theirs to their blog. It's really just square photos to me--no different from any other pictures they would share. (Pictures are pictures!) But for those that do have Instagram it may be annoying to see the same pictures over again, but if they really care that much, they can just not read these particular posts right? I mean, at least you wrote some stuff along with it right? : ] Right! And I hope you continue to post them, even if you think you shouldn't : ]

In response to the actual photos: I love the plant nursery! It's one of my all-time favorite places to go!; I still can't get over how much you look like your mom. Wow!; those nails are pretty dang awesome; cute bookstore!; adorable kids; fluffy kitty makes me want to reach into that picture and pick him up to snuggle his soft fur! (I'll settle in going to find my own kitty right now teehee) ; ]

Morgan's nails are amazing, and your mom is so cute! I can definitely see a family resemblance. I used to think the same thing about my "Scenes from Life" posts. I thought, surely people would rather look at inspiring art and design rather than pics of what I'm eating or reading or whatever. But I've had so many people say they like those posts (and even had people emailing me to ask where they are if I don't post one for a couple of weeks-lol). I don't have instagram, but if I ever do I'm sure I will post those pics to my blog too. :)

I have the same thoughts about posting Instagram updates. My goal for the future is to take more photos of my daily life with my "real" camera, rather than my phone. Instagram is just so convenient I always get sucked into using it instead!

You know what? I don't have a cell phone, believe it or not. And so I don't have Instagram. So, for me, I LOVE seeing the Instagram posts on blogs. =0)I know eventually I'm going to break down and get a phone, but even when that does happen, I would still love to see blog posts with Instagram and thoughts. ~Kimfrom Blogging Buddieshttp://2justByou.blogspot.com